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BBC news 2013-12-27

BBC News with John Jason.

Heavy fighting between government forces and rebels has continued in South Sudan. The United Nations special representative there Hilde Johnson has said well over 1,000 people have been killed, although the exact number is not known. She said, “given the current situation, the UN peacekeepers have been given permission to defend themselves and those in their care.” “All peacekeepers are under the instruction to use force when civilians are under imminent threat within their capabilities. And that is an instruction that also is there for those are protecting our camps and the civilians taking refuge there.” President Salva's Kiir has met the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Reports say they discussed the humanitarian crisis and a possible ceasefire. The Anglican Bishop of Malakal in the north of the country has told the BBC that the government forces and police there have divided with some in favor of the former deputy prime minister and rebel leader, Riek Machar. Toby Lanzer, a UN Humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan says there has been serious fighting in Malakal. “I just got off the phone to our team there. Situation is very tense, I'm afraid. It's been difficult for them. Our base has been caught in crossfire a time during the day. So they are extremely worried about the situation. We may have as many as 10,000 people who sought shelter with us, and so we are doing the best we can to keep everybody safe.”

The Thai government has rejected a call from the election commission to postpone indefinitely the election due to be held in February. A senior minister said the law will not allow the government to delay the election. The election commission said it believed the risk of violence was now too high for campaigning to take place. A policeman was killed in clashes with anti-government demonstrators outside a registration venue.

A public prosecutor in Turkey says he's been prevented from carrying out a full investigation into the corruption allegations at the heart of the Turkish government. Jonny Sabra reports. “Muammar Akkas, the lead prosecutor charged with probing corruption at the highest levels of government, said on Thursday that he and his colleagues have been prevented from launching an investigation. After ordering the arrest of 30 more suspects, Akkas said that files had been taken from his hands, he had been removed from his duties and that his task as public prosecutor had been obstructed. The probe launched last week by prosecutors saw the arrest of at least 30 businessmen and sons of three key ministers. All of whom resigned from their ministerial posts on Wednesday.”

The United States is sending dozens of missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq to help combat al-Qaeda. An official of the State Department confirmed a recent story in the New York Times and said Hellfire missiles and ScanEagle drones have been delivered to the Iraqi authorities.

World News from the BBC

A court in the American state of Pennsylvania overturned the conviction of a Roman Catholic Church official imprisoned more than a year ago on charges related to child sex abuse by a clergy. Monsignor William Lynn who worked at the Archdiocese until 2004 was convicted of endangering children. Prosecutors argued that he arranged for a clergy accused of abusing children to be moved to a new parish in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's district attorney Seth Williams has said he's likely to appeal against the decision.

China has summoned the Japanese ambassador in Beijing to lodge a strong protest about the visit of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine. Mr. Abe is the first serving Prime Minister in more than 7 years to visit the shrine which honors Japan's war dead including convicted war criminals. South Korea said it couldn’t withhold its anger. The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the move had intensified the tension with Japan. “What Abe has done is taking Japan in a dangerous direction. Lessons must be learned from history. The international community, including China, should step up their vigilance, and not allow Japan to retrace its historical steps.”

The Egyptian authorities have arrested at least 16 supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood a day after it was declared a terrorist organization. Those arrested include the son of a deputy leader of the movement which was thrown out of power when the army deposed President Mohammed Morsi in July. The state news agency said they were arrested on suspicion of promoting the ideology of the Brotherhood and inciting violence against the army and police.

A Russian cargo plane has crashed in Siberia, killing 6 crew and 3 other people on board. The Emergencies Ministry said the transport plane was heading to a factory in Irkutsk when it fell on a warehouse in the military unit outside the city. It caused a fire but there were no casualties on the ground.